Aurora Australis over Concordia station 18 July

19 July 2012

A stunning image showing Aurora Australis – the Southern Lights – glowing over Concordia station in the Antarctic, one of the remotest places on Earth, on 18 July 2012. It was taken by ESA-sponsored scientist Alexander Kumar and his colleague Erick Bondoux from about 1 km from the station, located in the Antarctic at 75°S latitude.

The French–Italian Concordia station's programme of research includes glaciology, human biology and the atmosphere. ESA uses the base to prepare for future long-duration missions beyond Earth.

During the winter, Concordia is under almost total darkness, with an average temperature of –51°C and a record low of –85°C. It is an ideal place to study the effects on small, multicultural teams isolated for long periods in an extreme, hostile environment.

Auroras occur frequently over both the North and South polar regions, but are often difficult to see from populated areas. During periods of increased solar activity, the lights sometimes extend to populated latitudes.

“Such events are capable of affecting space-based telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorological observations and navigation through to power distribution and terrestrial communications, especially at northern latitudes.”